Joshua Barrie, sometimes seen on Sky Sports, has admitted he was intrigued to see Giovanni van Bronckhorst single out Rangers’ Rabbi Matondo following Wednesday’s win.
The Light Blues picked up a much-needed win at Ibrox on Wednesday night as Malik Tillman’s second-half goal proved the difference.
Matondo was named in starting lineup in the Scottish Premiership for just the sixth time this season, but was replaced by Scott Wright just after the hour against Hearts.
The right-wing position has been consistently chopped and changed at Ibrox this season, and speaking after their midweek victory, Barrie gave his thoughts on the Rangers Review YouTube channel.
He said: “I thought after the break, the substitutions lifted the energy.
“The manager said kind of unprompted in the post-match press conference that Matondo wasn’t able to give the contribution he needed, which was interesting to see him single out a player.”
TIF Thoughts on Matondo and Rangers…
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The 22-year-old arrived for around £2m in the summer but he is yet to live up to expectations in Glasgow.
In the SPFL, the Welshman is averaging a 6.79 match rating, leaving him 15th among his teammates.
According to SofaScore, he managed just 36 touches and completed just one of five dribble attempts successfully against Hearts.
The winger struggled in the contest and won just two of his eight duels while also giving the ball away 13 times.
It’s perhaps unlikely to think that he will be in from the start as the Bears travel to St Mirren on Saturday lunchtime.
Having also been left out of Wales’ World Cup squad, the one-time Manchester City youngster will have time to address his first few months north of the border and will be hoping his form improves after Christmas.